Cincinnati. What an intriguing offseason they’ve had and I really do believe they’re a team worth keeping an eye on. They have some real good arms coming up, and some real good young talent on the rise, and I think they absolutely can go out- play good baseball…and be right there in the mix with the Cubs, Brewers, and Cardinals.

Lets break it down a bit-

Starting pitching- It all starts with Aaron Harang. The question is- what Harang is going to emerge in 2010? The healthy one who can win 16-19 games? The injured one who will make 20 starts and go 4-11? Or something in between? If he’s on it’s going to take a ton of pressure off of the younger guys in the rotation. Throw in the emergence of young guys like Mike Leake and Aroldis Chapman? The return of Edinson Volquez in September? That could be a REAL scary rotation at the end of this year and 2011 at the latest.

Offense- Joey Votto is the masher. Brandon Phillips is as steady at second as they come…I really like Drew Stubbs alot and I think he can be a big part of the puzzle offensively. Throw in a healthy Scott Rolen and a decent year by Orlando Cabrera? There’s no reason why they can’t compete. Jay Bruce should be able to relax a little more and that’s why I think he’ll emerge as the middle of the order pop he provided when brought up from AAA.

Bullpen- Here’s where they’re going to do or die. Nick Masset should be a nice middle inning guy. Jared Burton isn’t bad while Daniel Herrera and Arthur Rhodes should provide stability from the left side. The problem is- none of these guys are big names and that’s why I just don’t know if they’ll be able to sustain success. However, if they can get the ball to Francisco Cordero with consistency- They’ll be able to do some good things, and the rest of the central should already take notice. The Reds are just about back in terms of contention.